Method of producing figured knit fabrics



Nov. 19, 1935. F, E MORRls ET AL 2,021,132

METHOD OE PRODUGING FIGURED KNIT FABRICS Filed Oct. 17, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z IG Z INVENTUR@ Flank Mozs WTTORNEYS.

Nov.19, 1935. FQEMORRIS EAL 1 2,021,132

METHOD l0F PRODUCING FIGUREDV KNIT FABRICS Filed Oct. 17, 1931` 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WI T NESSES:

y INVENTORQ A fg Tram/2E Morrzs i BY J-[ozwrdJM/Wf; l

Patented Nov.l` 19, 1935 METHOD 0F PRODUCING FIGURED 4KNIT FABRICS Frank E. Morris and Howard J. Wagner, Philadelphia, Pa.; said Morris Wagner assignor to said Application October i7, 1931, Serial No. 569,366

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-201) This invention-relates to figured knit fabrics, as well as to methods of producing such fabrics. More particularly, it has reference to knit fabrics for hosiery, with clocks or like ornamentations,

produced as a consequence of use in the knitting Of' two contrastingly colored or otherwise physically differentiated yarns, as distinguished from knitted fabrics in which the ornamentation is produced by drop stitches, tuck stitches, or other so called lace stitches.

Heretofore, fabrics of the kind specifically referred to, were produced in three Ways, to wit:

(A) By simultaneously feeding. two different yarns to the needles of a knitting machine in plaiting relation, and reversing the position of the yarns in the hooks of selected patterning needles.

(B) By simultaneously feeding two different yarns to the needl-es, but preventing the needles selected to produce the ornamentation, from taking one of the yarns, as a consequence of which the said yarn is floated behind the loops formed from the other yarn.

(C) By knitting the fabric on all the needles with one yarn, and plaiting with the other yarn on selected needles to produce the ornamentation.

Fabrics knit under the methods (A) and (B) are essentially of double thickness, and therefore objectionable if 4lightness,as regards weight, is

essential or desirable. Moreover, in the case of the fabric produced under method (A) it is impossible to secure ornamental figures of solid color, since, in the ornamented areas, both yarns are interlooped with attendant muddling of the ornamentation due to overlap of colors after the manner characteristic of plaiting. The latter objection is also true of fabric produced under method (C), although such fabric is of a single lthickness except over the ornamentalareas.

Our invention is directed toward obviating the various objections pointed out in connection with figured knit fabrics made under the above methods. With this end in view, it is our aim to make possible the production of a single thickness figured fabric in which the body portion is knit solely from one yarn,` while the ornamental areas are knit solely with the other yarn, with the consequent avoidance of overlapping lof colors and of indefiniteness in the ornamentation As hereinafter fully set forth, through maintenance of a definite novel feeding relation be, tween the two yarns employed in the knitting,"

our improved fabric lends itself to ready' and rapid production on circular knitting -machines equipped with latch needles.

In the drawings Fig. I shows a fragment of our improved fabric stretched somewhat to better illustrate the stitch formation and floats at the 5 back thereof.

Figs. II and III are diagrammatic plan views of a circular knitting machine showing the needles and the feeds relied upon to serve the two yarns to the needles. l0

Figs. IV, V and VI are detail views showing the relation in which the two yarns are fed to the knitting needles. f

Referring to Fig. I, the body portion I 0 of our improved fabric is knit solely with a body yarn 16 Il which may, for example, be white, it being so indicated in the illustration. The ornamental area I2 of the fabric, which in this instance is of diamond configuration, is knit` solely with a. yarn I3, while the body yarn II is floated across 20 the.back of the said area. The yarn I3 may be either of different material from the yarn I I, or it may be contrastingly colored, as conventionally indicated in Fig. I. It is to be particularly noted that the fabric is characterized 25v by absence of any doubling connection of the side edge loops at the wale junctures between the body portionl Ill and the ornamental area I2 knit respectively with the yarns II and I3. In other words, theside border loops of the orna- 30 mental area I2 connect singly with correspondiing border loops in the skipsf defined by the body portion I0. The ornamental area I2 is accordingly of solid color characterized by wales of Variant length, and therefore sharply set off 35 in contrast to the body portion I0 of the fabric, thefloating strands of the yarn II across the skips at 4the back of the fabric being entirely hidden from view. The particular design of the ornamentation shown for convenience of illustra- 40 tion herein is determined by feeding the yarn I3 to two needles for two courses, then to an addi-.- tional pair of needles to each side of the first pair, and so on until the maximum width of the ligure is attained, whereupon the procedure is 45 reversed. For reasons later on explained, the yarn I3 is continuously'oated, as at I5, between opposite ends of the segmental portions of `the courses of the fabric produced by it.

Figured knit fabric having the above described characteristics may be readily and economically produced on a circular knitting machine with latched needles after the manner illustrated in Figs. II, IV, V and VI. In this connection let it able mecnanism of any known Asort capable of elevating selected needles,'as instanced bythe shaded needles at I6 in Figs. II and III, in progressively varying numbers incident to knitting of successive courses ofthe fabric, above the remaining needles in the circular series, which latter are shown in white and designated by the reference character IGa in Figs. II and III. At I1 we have shown a guide for serving the yam I3 into the hooks of the raised needlesv I6, and, at I8, a guide Vfor serving the yarn II to the needles IEa. As delineated in Figs. II, III and IV, the

guide I8 is disposed well to the rear of the guide II with regard to the direction of rotation of the l5 t machine, and at a much lower level, thereby to insure that the yarn II is laid substantially horizontal on the ledges I9a of the web holders I 9 and ata level below the latches of the raised needles I8. Thus, as the needles I6 descend to 20 the stitch forming level, their latches are closed by the yarn I I` over the yarn I3 fed into their hooks by the feed I1', while the yarn II is missed by the said needles IB and ultimately floated acrossthe loops formed with the yarn I 3, at the 25 back of the fabric as shown in Fig. I. Incident to continued rotation of the machine, the yarn I 3v arts, and we therefore do not consider ourselves limited to the specific species of design. herein exemplified. Our invention is moreover not to be construed as restricted to a single gure, since, by duplication of yarn feeds, the same or different 5 figures may obviously be produced in multiple crosswise of, or around the fabric.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l'. Aplain knit fabric comprising a main web knit from a body yarn and having an ornamenl0 tally-configured area with float skips of the body yarn across varying numbers of wales in successive courses of the fabric; and a plain knit fill-in web completely closing the ornamentally congured area, formed from contrasting yarn, said main and illl-in webs being connected only by interloopmentv of contiguous loops of the two yarns at the edges of the ornamentally congured area, and the contrasting yarn being floated at the back of the fabric between opposite end loops of contiguous courses of the fill-in web.

2. The method of producing ornamented knit fabrics' which comprises knitting a plain web from abody yarn with formationv of oat skips yacross varying numbers of wales in successive courses of the knitting; and concurrently closing the skips by knitting a J1'in web from a separate contrasting yarn in such manner that only contiguous edge loops of the two Webs are interconnected, and the contrasting yarn is iloated at .the back of the fabric between opposite end loops of 'contiguous courses of said ll-in web.

FRANK E. MORRIS.

lHOWARD J. WAGNER. 

